QUESTION Who's the worst?
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This is a subject I've pondered for a while and many regulars here will probably already guess my answer.
Pin collecting, whether you are a completist like me or just happen to love a popular character can be a study in frustration - and debt. lol
Whether it's watching a just-released pin soar immediately to several hundred dollars (WDI/WDCS/DSSH) or seeing pins not being released at your local parks but on the other coast or even another country instead or licensed companies like Artland whose retail prices start through the roof or Loungefly or Pink a la Mode that just release TOO FREAKIN' MANY PINS on a weekly basis - these are all just so frustrating.
But I'm curious who frustrates you the most as a collector and why?
For me, no surprise to people who've seen me post about it before - it's Pink a la Mode. Not only do they release too many pins on a weekly basis so you're paying repeat shipping costs, too, but many are high priced and/or limited - or as they say "special edition". Plus they then can re-release the same pins in even more limited variations at even higher prices. The worst example of this was their 6 Oyster pins release that they then subsequently released an LE100 version of all the pins in rose gold at a MASSIVE price hike.
This is why I think they are the absolute worst pin source for me as a collector. The cast pins (WDI/WDCS) are expensive and hard to get but they are not putting out pins for my collection - often using the exact same designs - on a weekly basis. And people, at least locally here in SoCal, hate buying PALM pins for trade because they don't trade well and aren't valued/prized highly - even if the secondary cost can go above retail it generally comes down again for most of their pins, so they are hard for me to find to trade for because nobody has them. Why invest $40 on a PALM pin for trade if you can spend $40 on a WDI/WDCS/DSSH pin that more people want and are genuine guaranteed "Limited Editions" not to be repeated/re-released?
By contrast, Loungefly puts out a TON of pins I need, which drives me nuts, but all are open edition and low retail prices and often go on sale at Hot Topic or Box Lunch and almost never trade higher than retail cost. But there are so many of them, mostly mystery sets and currently, my ISO's include 30+ Loungefly OE pins that I know about but may have missed some as they come out so often. Whereas my PALM ISO's are currently "only" 11 pins, some dating back a few years, but all are limited/special edition pins and are a PAIN to try and get.
What say you?
Pin collecting, whether you are a completist like me or just happen to love a popular character can be a study in frustration - and debt. lol
Whether it's watching a just-released pin soar immediately to several hundred dollars (WDI/WDCS/DSSH) or seeing pins not being released at your local parks but on the other coast or even another country instead or licensed companies like Artland whose retail prices start through the roof or Loungefly or Pink a la Mode that just release TOO FREAKIN' MANY PINS on a weekly basis - these are all just so frustrating.
But I'm curious who frustrates you the most as a collector and why?
For me, no surprise to people who've seen me post about it before - it's Pink a la Mode. Not only do they release too many pins on a weekly basis so you're paying repeat shipping costs, too, but many are high priced and/or limited - or as they say "special edition". Plus they then can re-release the same pins in even more limited variations at even higher prices. The worst example of this was their 6 Oyster pins release that they then subsequently released an LE100 version of all the pins in rose gold at a MASSIVE price hike.
This is why I think they are the absolute worst pin source for me as a collector. The cast pins (WDI/WDCS) are expensive and hard to get but they are not putting out pins for my collection - often using the exact same designs - on a weekly basis. And people, at least locally here in SoCal, hate buying PALM pins for trade because they don't trade well and aren't valued/prized highly - even if the secondary cost can go above retail it generally comes down again for most of their pins, so they are hard for me to find to trade for because nobody has them. Why invest $40 on a PALM pin for trade if you can spend $40 on a WDI/WDCS/DSSH pin that more people want and are genuine guaranteed "Limited Editions" not to be repeated/re-released?
By contrast, Loungefly puts out a TON of pins I need, which drives me nuts, but all are open edition and low retail prices and often go on sale at Hot Topic or Box Lunch and almost never trade higher than retail cost. But there are so many of them, mostly mystery sets and currently, my ISO's include 30+ Loungefly OE pins that I know about but may have missed some as they come out so often. Whereas my PALM ISO's are currently "only" 11 pins, some dating back a few years, but all are limited/special edition pins and are a PAIN to try and get.
What say you?